Help! I'm an addict...at least I think I am.

Last Sunday our lesson in Relief Society was about getting out of bondage.  We used a talk given by Elder Cook in the October 2013 General Conference called Lamentations of Jeremiah: Beware of Bondage.  You should read it if you feel like you have questions about whether or no you, like me, are sort-of-an-addict. 

I've been thinking about this a lot lately.  I mean a lot, even before the lesson.  One of the sections in the talk made the point beautifully:

"Second, some addictions or predilections, while not inherently evil, can use up our precious allotment of time which could otherwise be used to accomplish virtuous objectives. These can include excessive use of social media, video and digital games, sports, recreation, and many others."  

It was a reference to a headline from a 2012 New York Times magazine article:

“The Hyperaddictive, Time-Sucking, Relationship-Busting, Mind-Crushing Power and Allure of Silly Digital Games.” And then in small print: “(Which is not to say we don’t love them too.)” 

I'm completely addicted to Facebook.  To try to control my addiction I decided to stop using FB for a couple months.  I deleted the app, made it so I can't go to the website from my phone, and announced it to the FB world.  Then I breathed a sigh of relief.  Wow!  That felt great!  My FB addiction was defeated.

Then I realized that I'm the head administrator of the Tooele Triathletes page, that I just started back up after six months of ignoring it.  Well what's a girl to do?  So I decided to just pop on from my hooked-to-the-wall-computer to take care of that one page without looking at anything else.  Problem solved.  We also had a small family crisis concerning our dog.  Long-story-short we thought we needed to give her up due to her hyper-protection of the kids, but decided against it when the shelter told us that even though she's never bitten anyone she most likely would be put to sleep.  I needed to get the word out and FB is the easiest way to make both announcements and that my kiddos needed extra love for a bit.  Again the hooked-to-the-wall computer was the best way to do it.  

Those two instances made me re-think my addiction.  How sure was I that Facebook was the problem?  Let's think about it for a few minutes.  I was popping on my phone every half-hour or so to check FB.  Nope, nothing new yet.  Better get back to cleaning the kitchen.  Or Ooh, s0-and-so has a new blog post.  I must read it right now!  I must be informed.  Okay, looking like a FB addiction for sure.  Then suddenly it wasn't an option any more.  So why am I still looking at my phone every half-hour?  I downloaded the Candy Crush game app.

CRAP!  It's not a Facebook addiction at all.  I'm addicted to my PHONE.  Are you kidding me?  I refuse to buy my kids handheld games because I don't want them to be zoned, looking at the tiny flashing screen for hours on end.  Yet here I am, looking at the tiny flashing lights on my phone screen.  What the heck?!  Mountains of laundry, spots on the walls for weeks, windows, home improvement projects needing to be finished, and worst of all neglecting my family and teaching my kids that the tiny flashing lights are important.

So, yep, I'm an addict.  It's not a chemical addiction, but if you believe the medical articles I am having a chemical reaction in my brain.  I need to keep my phone busy in other ways, so I don't feel the need to jump on it every few minutes.  I have Spotify and Pandora, so maybe that will help.  Does anyone have a playlist or station they're willing to recommend/share with me?

Oh, by the way, here's the link to the complete talk if you want to read it or maybe question your addiction/predilection:  

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/11/sunday-afternoon-session/lamentations-of-jeremiah-beware-of-bondage?lang=eng#footnote16-10711_000_035